The present invention relates to a composition for treating hypertension and lowering cholesterol and a method for preparing same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a composition for treating hypertension and lowering cholesterol which contains the mixed extract of Pana notoginseng and Salvia miltiorrhiza as an active ingredient, and a method for preparing same.
Cardiac and vascular diseases are one of the main causes of human death, and are represented by cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral thrombosis, heart failure, cardiac infarction, etc. However, etiology of such diseases is very diverse and complex. The target for treatment of hypertension is to prevent the occurrence of complications in brain, heart, kidney, liver, etc., thereby allowing the human to manage a normal life by the average life span. The development of drugs for treatment of hypertension is still urgently required.
Blood pressure and hypertension will be more specifically explained hereinbelow. The term, blood pressure, denotes a pressure of blood stream flowing through blood vessels, i.e., arterial pressure. In this context, the term, hypertension, means that a certain cause induces an increase of resistance on the internal wall of blood vessel thus resulting in the maximum blood pressure (systolic blood pressure or highest blood pressure) of 150-160 mmHg and the minimum blood pressure (diastolic blood pressure or lowest blood pressure) of 90 mmHg or more. The former is called a systolic hypertension and the latter is called a diastolic hypertension. Although both may separately arise, it is general that they are simultaneously present. Moreover, hypertension may occur in the thirties, but it mainly occurs during the pre- and post-climacteric period in men rather than women.
According to etiology, hypertension can be classified into essential hypertension and symptomatic hypertension. Although the cause of essential hypertension is not fully clarified as yet, essential hypertension occurs in many cases of fatty persons having a potent genetic predisposition. However, essential hypertension may also be observed in many cases of otherwise persons This essential hypertension is closely related to arteriosclerosis. In this context, it appears that hypertension may result in arteriosclerosis rather than arteriosclerosis which is the cause of hypertension. In case of essential hypertension, blood pressure is fluctuated at the early stage and then is maintained at a high level when artery is hardened.
Symptomatic hypertension arises from other cause and is mainly induced by renal diseases, particularly acute nephritis, toxemia of pregnancy, climacteric disorders, etc.
In many cases, hypertension at the early stage does not develop any symptom and is accidentally revealed through measurement of blood pressure. When hypertension is progressed, various subjective symptoms such as headache, anxiety, fatigue, vertigo, palpitation, excitation and constipation are developed and blood pressure is greatly fluctuated. In a chronic state of disease, hypertrophic extension of left ventricle, coronary artery disorders, heart failure, etc. are progressed to either cause congestive heart failure or cardiac infarction, which may lead to death, or to cause change in a renal artery and resultant nephrosclerosis which may be a culprit of renal failure such as polyuria, night polyuria, proteinuria, etc., the patient of which may lead to death because of uremia. Other complications such as arteriosclerosis on eyeground, aneurysm etc., may also be developed.
Although the cause of hypertension is very diverse, hypertension stems generally from hyperergasia of sympathetic nerve, abnormality of hormone secretion, abnormality of renal artery, etc. Thus, spontaneous hypertension is concerned with at least three or more genes, upon which environmental factors such as excess ingestion of salts or stress act to induce hypertension. In the early stage of disease, the neurological factors play an important role and the disease is progressed by factors including abnormalities of metabolism and structure of blood vessels. If hypertension is persisted, the contraction of artery is fixed, plasma norepinephrine is reduced, and collagen and non-collagen metabolism in cardiovascular system is accelerated, thereby fixing the state of hypertension. A change in the lining of blood vessel to support the elevated pressure thereof affects the blood flow toward heart and kidney thus increasing the mortality due to diseases in circulatory system such as arteriosclerosis, cardiac infarction, cerebral stroke, etc.
The study of hypertension has been actively and continuously conducted with a medical concern in an effort to induce development of several therapeutic agents from about 40 years ago. However, the prior therapeutic agents have many problems due to continuous medication and therefore, a satisfactory therapeutic agent for hypertension has not been developed as yet. It has been reported that hypertension can be preferably treated by means of a combination of two or three different kinds of hypotensive agents. By way of example, it is preferred that a drug having hypotensive effect is used, while another drug having different hypotensive mechanism is administered, to reduce any possible side effect of the drug as first used.
Side effects, which may be caused by currently used hypotensive agents are as follows:
Diuretic-based antihypertensive agents have a tendency to induce hypocalcemia, hyperuricemia, glycosemia, hyperlipidemia, sexual function disturbance, hyperkalemia, etc., whereas sympatholytic hypotensive agents may induce sexual function disturbance, thirst, depression, orthostatic hypotension, bradycardia, asthma, heart failure, etc.
Vasodilating hypotensive agents show tachycardia, arrhythmia, asthenia, polyuria, suffusion, headache, bradycardia, etc.
In addition, angiotensin II inhibitors show side effects such as rapid decrease in renal function, uremia, heart failure, etc., and agents for blocking 5-HT receptor may induce headache, dry mouth, nausea, vertigo, eruption, pruritus, cacogeusia, pyrexia, leukocytopenia, kidney failure, arthralgia, etc.
The effectiveness of recently developed Ca+ antagonists has been substantially established. It has been revealed, however, that they have side effects such as inhibition of cardiac function due to myocardial contraction, and further that Ca2+ participates in insulin secretion mechanism to induce disorder of insulin secretion.
Thus, the use of many therapeutic agents for hypertension accompanies a serious practical problem due to such side effects. In addition, in controlling the blood pressure, if any one side is inhibited, the other side may be accelerated to induce a new unbalance of hypertension. By way of example, the administration of diuretic-based hypotensive agent may lower water or sodium factors and on the other hand, accelerate rennin-angiotensin system.
The blood pressure is maintained in a competitive manner by factors conflicting with each other. However, the effect following administration of hypotensive agents is substantially unsatisfactory to treat hypertension and, if any resistance to the drug is raised, an antagonistic factor at any one side may be accelerated. Therefore, when two or more hypotensive agents are used together, it is preferred that the mechanism thereof be different from each other. Preferred agents for treatment of hypertension should improve blood flow in tissues and organs by preventing any possible disorder of the target organ and controlling blood pressure, maintain blood pressure within the normal range, and have substantially no toxicity and side effect.
Meanwhile, Panax notoginseng NEES, which is one of medicinal herbs, is a perennial herbal plant belonging to Araliaceae and contains approximately 4% of saponin aglycons (Ginsenosides Ro, a, b1, b2, c, d, e, f, g1, g2, h). Aglycon of ginsenoside Ro is oleanolic acid; aglycon of ginsenosides Rb1, b2, c and d is 20-s-protopanaxadiol; and aglycon of ginsenosides Re, g1 and g2 is 20-s-protopanaxtriol. In addition, Panax notoginseng also contains, xcex2-sitosterol, xcex2-sitosteryl-glucoside,panaxynol (1,9-cis)-heptadecadiene-4,6-dyen-3-ol), vitamin B group, choline, etc., and further, about 1.5% of monosaccharides, and disaccharides, trisaccharides, etc. None of components contained in Panax notoginseng has been known to have pharmacological activities, except that it has been reported that aglycons have hypotensive activity in animals.
Since Panax notoginseng tends to exhibit hemostatic activity, it has been used for hematemesis or rhinorrhagia, and further stimulates the function of brain by acting on central nervous system. In addition, it has been known that Panax notoginseng exhibits hypotensive activity, dilation of heartbeat and increase in coronary blood flow, while showing lipidolysis activity in blood and activating immune function.
Another medicinal herb, Salvia miltiorrhiza BUNGE belonging to Labiatae is a perennial herbal plant spontaneously growing in fields and mountains on the northeast area of China. It has been known that Salvia miltiorrhiza BUNGE contains phenanthraquinone-based pigment including tanshinone I purplish brown (I), tanshinine II red (II), cryptotanshinone orange (III), and other tanshinol I, II. However, it has not been disclosed as yet that any of these components exhibits pharmacological activities. Merely known is that the aqueous extract of Salvia miltiorrhiza BUNGE has some inhibitory activity against various dermatomycosis. In the filed of Chinese medicine, it has been used for treating dysmenorrhea, menorrhalgia, menopause or postpartal abdominal pain. In this context, it is supposed that phenanthraquinone-based pigment materials are highly possible to take part in endocrine system in view of their chemical structures and are also concerned with disturbance of blood circulation.
In consideration of the problems inherent in the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a medicinal herb composition for treating hypertension and lowering cholesterol level.
Another object of the invention is to provide a composition for treating hypertension and lowering cholesterol level, in which the plant extract exhibits a significant hypotensive effect with substantially no side effect and regulates the factors responsible for the control of blood pressure to adjust blood pressure within normal range, thereby maintaining the homeostasis of blood pressure, and further to provide a method for preparing same.